


Last Name

by Not_a_fanatic_just_a_fan



Category: Bleach
Genre: Drunken Shenanigans, F/M, Family, Hitsugaya is less fun, I don't want to add more tags because spoilers, Matsumoto is fun, Romantic Fluff, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-10-28 16:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_a_fanatic_just_a_fan/pseuds/Not_a_fanatic_just_a_fan
Summary: Inspired/based on song "Last Name" by Kelly Clarkson.The army is passing through a small town just before the big battle. Matsumoto thinks that her straight-laced captain needs to loosen up a little (read: a LOT).Yuzu and Karin are celebrating their birthday with a night out the same night said army is in town. What a coincidence.Please drink responsibly.





	1. Chapter 1

Kisuke’s Inn was a large two-building, the entire first floor taken up by the main dining room/bar and a kitchen in the back, the second-story the actual rooms. It was one of the largest buildings in all of Karakura, second only to the courthouse (which was also the mayor’s office and pretty much the seat of all governmental business for Karakura), which said more for the town than for the inn.

Urahara Kisuke was a mysterious man to strangers and just plain weird to those who knew him. He employed his two children (?) to serve and a large man named Tessai to cook. He also managed to rope in whatever help her could from ‘friends’ and ‘freeloaders’.

He was currently using several more people officially to help and even more unofficially. Because he was currently the only business open.

Which meant that everyone in town was there. And not only everyone in town, but a large number of soldiers. Which was why everyone was there.

Let me explain.

The Hollows were a foreign invading army that had plagued all of Soul Society for ages. The Gotei 13 was a special army of elite members called the Shinigami (Soul Reapers or Death Gods) who fought against them. This eternal conflict had been going on for – well – eternity.

Then, everything changed when Aizen left.

Aizen was the Betrayer, and had left for the Hollows, becoming their general and launching a full-scale war against all of Soul Society. As such, the Gotei 13 had been forced to take in civilian troops to aid in the war. Which meant that it was no longer just Seireitei’s problem, but everyone’s problem.

Now, coming back to Kisuke’s Inn, we find a party going on. This was not a celebration of the end of the war. Not really. See, the soldiers that were passing through, were on their way to a predetermined spot, supposedly out in the middle of nowhere, to mount one last large attack against the Hollows. The war had been dragging on for many years now and General Yamamoto had decided on one last stand.

Karakura was really having a wake, one last farewell for the soldiers who weren’t really expected to survive. Which was most of them.

Well, almost everyone was there for that reason. There was a small group of young adults, barely into their adulthood that were there for a slightly more personal reason.

“Happy birthday Karin and Yuzu! And may you have many more!” Kentarou, one of Karin’s best friend raised his cup of sake. The people around this particular table all raised their own cups full of various liquids before drinking.

The birthday girl was safely drinking a non-alcoholic juice. Her friends were not. The night was young and Karin wanted to remember it.

“Karin, now that you are of age, there is something that I need to ask you.” Kentarou had a serious expression but they could all see the playful glint in his eye. He walked over to her and knelt on one knee. Karin’s twin (who looks and acts nothing like her) gasped excitedly.

“Karin, will you marry me?” He pulled out a wooden ring, obviously self-carved just for this occasion.

“I’d rather gouge my eyes out with that ring than marry a git like you.” Laughter erupted around the table. Their laughter matched the general merriment of the whole Inn.

Kentarou turned to Yuzu. “How about-”

“No.” The usually sweet Yuzu was surprisingly firm. Double-rejected, Kentarou pretended to sulk before he burst out laughing with the rest of them.

“Seriously though you two,” Ryohei spoke up. “You can totally get married now.”

“And since every person in town is here right now, you can have your pick of the litter.” Heita grinned.

“There isn’t a single soul in all of Karakura that I could stomach even the thought of being with, much less marrying.” Karin’s quick response set them off again.

“Then why don’t you look at some of our visitors?” It was Yuzu who spoke, which surprised Karin. Yuzu was calmly sipping her own drink, a safe juice like Karin. She had on a surprisingly coy grin.

Karin peered at her suspiciously. “Did someone spike your drink?” She asked dully.

Yuzu laughed.

Kei spoke over the roar of the Inn. “You did say not a soul in Karakura! That doesn’t exclude the soldiers passing through.” He and Ryohei grinned at each other, nudging elbows. Not all soldiers were male.

As if on cue, Kazuya called out, his eyeglasses flashing in the light. “10 at 2 o’clock.”

Every male at the table whipped around, and dropped their jaws as an extremely well-endowed strawberry-blond female with a way too open uniform walked past, a new bottle of sake in her raised arm, cheeks flushed from who knows how many drinks previous.

“You know, I never know why you bother looking at 10s.” Karin sipped her drink. “She wouldn’t notice the lot of you if you were the last people in world.”

“That’s why we look, Karin-chan.” Ryohei spoke with a pained expression and voice, none of them looking at Karin. “It’s all we can do.”

They all watched as she made her way, surprisingly steady for someone who acted as drunk as she did, to a table that looked like higher up officers sat. The Inn was too crowded for Karin to see who was at the table clearly but they looked like they were enjoying the party as much as the female that had just walked over.

“You’re all idiots. People like you are the reason why I’ve given up on the idea of relationships. Guys are stupid.”

The bosomy woman hidden by the crowd, her friends turned back to her with protests on their lips. On the other side of the room, a tall, red-haired man had just instigated a fight with a bald man who carried a speak. Karin just shared a grin with Yuzu. Tonight was going to be memorable.

* * *

“Hey, Karin!” Kentarou got her attention. “Wha’ you drinking?” He slurred.

The party had been going on for quite some time now. The sun had set a long time ago. People were starting to drop from too much sake.

“I think it’s some kind of mango/peach juice. It’s pretty good actually. Want some?” Karin grinned and offered her half-empty cup. She and Yuzu had been enjoying the drunken antics of their friends and fellow villagers.

Kentarou looked down-right offended. “I’s your birfday, woban! You’re …” He thought hard, looking slightly constipated doing so. “… older.” He finished, not remembering exactly how old she was supposed to be. “Old enough” He added with nod, taking another swig of his own sake.

“Old enough for what, Kentarou?” Karin raised an eyebrow.

“To drink!” He shouted, like it was obvious. He emphasized this point with another drink of his own.

Karin laughed as he almost fell off his chair from leaning too far back. “You’re really selling me on, Ken-chan!”

“Even, *hic* even I’ve tried it *hic* Karin-chan. *hic*.” Yuzu stumbled back over to the table. She had left earlier to talk with some of her own female friends and had returned with flushed cheeks and a lost equilibrium.

“Jus’ one drink, ‘Rin-chan!” Kentarou somehow stumbled over to Karin and tried to pour sake into her juice. He emptied the whole bottle but most of it landed on the table or the floor.

Pleased with his ‘success’, he gave her a grin. “Now!” He turned to the few remaining members of the table, most were passed out. He held himself steady by gripping Karin’s chair tightly. “A toast! To… to… ” He looked around for something to toast to.

“To opportunities! *hic*” Yuzu supplied, giggling.

Karin raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t really tempted. There antics had actually turned her off of even trying it. But both Kentarou and Yuzu were way too close for comfort and were looking at her eagerly, waiting for to try it.

“Fine.” She grumbled. She tentatively raised the cup and after a deep breath, took a sip.

Everyone (meaning Kentarou and Yuzu) cheered. Satisfied, they actually left.

Karin’s impression of sake was that it was on odd flavor that slightly burned her throat. The juice helped it slide down but left it with an even stranger taste. The only conscious member at the table now, and with a spiked drink, Karin gazed around the Inn with a bored expression.

Until her eyes caught sea-green eyes several tables down.

* * *

“Taicho~!” Matsumoto Rangiku in her drunken glory tried to lean down and hug her shorter, white-haired captain from behind. All she managed to do was send him face-first into the table, to the amusement of the other officers.

The party was in full-swing now and the other occupants of the table were enjoying themselves immensely.

“Leiutenant! You better get off him. I’m not sure he can breathe!” Captain Kyoraku laughed, gesturing with his sake cup to the tuft of white hair that was peeking out from beneath Matsumoto’s huge chest.

She got off with a laugh. Then laughed harder when she saw the angry expression that was off-set by the large red mark on his forehead. Turquoise eyes narrowed as he growled threateningly, “Matsumoto…”

“It’s a party, Captain! Drink! Have some fun! Find a girl and get freaky!” She cheered and toasted her own words, taking a large gulp from her sake bottle.

The other captains laughed at Hitsugaya’s twitching eye.

“It would do you some good to have a little fun, Toushirou-kun.” The other white-haired captain raised his own cup. His white hair was straight and hung down, unlike his shorter counterpart whose hair had forgotten what gravity was.

“We leave in the morning. I doubt a hangover will be a comfortable travelling companion.” He sniffed and took a sip of his water.

“Ah, Shiro-chan, that’s exactly why you need to relax!” Captain Kyoraku spoke up from above his cup, his obnoxious pink kimono over his uniform catching the eyes of those that passed behind him. “It’s the last bit of fun for a while. And it’s on the town’s bill!” A cheer rose up from all around the Inn at his words. Or perhaps it was because Lieutenant Abarai was now in a drunken brawl with Sergeant Ikkaku.

“Loosen up! Flirt! Have a drink!” Kyoraku tried to nudge Hitsugaya. He received a glare in return.

“He’s going to need to have a drink before he could even think about flirting!” Matsumoto laughed drunkenly.

They all laughed at the prospect or a drunk and/or flirting Hitsugaya.

“Seriously though, Shiro-kun. You should find someone. You’re young! You came of age, what was it, a little over a year ago? You could find a pretty little thing, settle down, get married, have little white-haired babies!” Kyoraku teased. “Or just stick with the first part.” This got more laughs.

Hitsugaya ignored them all and continued to sip his juice. He did not notice that Matsumoto had slipped a few drops of sake into his drink. Neither did he notice the increasing amount of alcohol as the night progressed. Or maybe the increasing amount had something to do with his lack of attention.

* * *

Most everyone was passed out now. Either from the alcohol or the brawl that had spread till most of the furniture was knocked over if not broken and several soldiers were spending their night nursing a concussion.

Hitsugaya was drunk. His cheeks were very flushed and he had stopped speaking a while ago because his words had started to slur together. Everyone else at his table were either passed out or moved on to more wild parts of the celebration. Ukitake had excused himself to his room due to not feeling well.

His eyes wondered around the room. He would have been upset with how all his soldiers and officers were behaving but the alcohol had done its job and now he didn’t care. It was funny, actually.

Then his eyes caught sight of a pair of dark eyes.

* * *

Karin watched as the startling green eyes made their way through the crowded Inn. It was mostly steady but there was definite drunken lurch to the walk. For some reason, Karin was nervous as the young (and very handsome though she pretended not to notice) man walked over to her table.

She wasn’t sure what to do. So she took another sip.

* * *

A part of Toushirou’s brain was reprimanding himself for walking over to the pair of pretty eyes but apparently his internal ears were muffled by the alcohol as he kept going.

They were really pretty eyes. And they had a pretty face to match.

He saw a delicate hand raise a cup and pink lips take a long drink. Unconsciously, Toushirou licked his lips.

* * *

It’s said that the best stories begin with alcohol. Whether this story could be called ‘the best’ was up for debate, but it did have plenty of alcohol.

We won’t go too much into detail about the first meeting. Suffice to say, it involved some embarrassingly honest confessions of beauty and blushing and nervous drinking and more blushing as the more sober of the pair caught up with the more drunken of the pair.

And then lots of awkward, drunken ‘flirting’ between both inexperienced members. And perhaps a drunken kiss. Or two. Or more.

And maybe there was a harsh whisper and invitation to go to a more private place.

And that, my friends, is where the already drunken mistake became even worse. But that is private so we shall skip over to the following morning.

* * *

Histugaya groaned. He had died. He was sure of it. No one could possibly survive this pain. His head was apparently the home of a whole company of troops who were were trying to escape his skull with their rifles and swords. His mouth was dry, as if someone had stuffed it full of cotton overnight.

And he was sore. And there was a banging on his door. Except the banging reverberated through his whole being like cannon-fire. He groaned even louder.

“Captain Hitsugaya! The company is leaving in thirty minutes! Are you ready?” Matsumoto’s voice sounded way too happy for morning time.

“Go away!” Came the muffled reply. Matsumoto laughed and left. It was her fault after all.

Blasted duty. Hitsugaya rolled out of bed, barely catching himself on his hands and knees on the floor. That’s when he noticed something extremely odd.

He was naked.

His hungover mind thought very slowly. Why was he naked? Then, slowly, horror filled him. Painstakingly slowly, Hitsugaya turned towards the bed and peeked over the edge.

On the other side of the bed, nestled deep under the covers, was a figure. A female figure.

A decidedly _naked_ female figure.

He was up, dressed, packed and out of that room in five minutes. He panted heavily as he leaned against the door he had just exited through, his eyes wide.

“Ah! Hitsugaya-kun! Good mor-” Ukitake’s greeting was cut short at Hitsugaya’s out of character yelp and jump. He whirled on the startled, older captain.

“Sorry, Hitsugaya-kun.” Ukitake apologized, confused. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just…” He cocked his head as he took in the discheveled, hurried state of his uniform, the blood-shot eyes, and most importantly, the hair that looked like fingers had been run through it all night long.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other.

“Hitsugaya-kun?” A slow smile was making its way across Ukitake’s face. “Did you-”

Toushirou straightened, masking his expression to cool indifference. He straightened his uniform a little more before grabbing his bag.

“Good morning.” He nodded to Ukitake with as much grace as possible. Which was difficult because now the other captain was trying to stifle his laughter in an attempt to be polite.

“Toushirou. Did you have a nightly visitor last night?” He gave a knowing grin.

Hitsugaya sniffed. “I don’t know what you mean.” Blatantly ignoring the captain’s expression.

“Oh?” Ukitake raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to the door to Hitsugaya room. “So if check your room…” He reached out a hand to the doorknob but was stopped by a rather forceful Hitsugaya jumping in front of him, slamming against the door. His expression was murderous.

“You’ll see _nothing_.” He hissed between clenched teeth.

Ukitake sniggered but backed off. “Right.” He walked past Hitsugaya and headed for the stairs. “Well, come Captain.” He said slyly. Hitsugaya heard his parting remark of “Again.” But chose to ignore it for his own sanity’s sake.

With a deep sigh and a nervous backwards glance at the door, Hitsugaya followed the other captain, to his waiting troops.

* * *

Karin was startled awake by a loud thump against the door, as if someone had slammed against it. She groaned at the pounding of her head, like a hundred little Oyaji’s were bouncing around, swinging hammers. And she was so unbelievably sore.

“Make it stop.” She moaned, her voice raspy from the dryness of her throat and mouth. She pulled her pillow over her head, which did nothing because the pounding was inside her head.

She heard a surprising amount of footsteps going back and forth on the other side of her door. What was that stupid father of her doing?

She lifted her head to shout angrily at her father but the yell faltered in her dry throat as she took in her room.

Or rather, the fact that it _wasn’t_ her room.

It was a room in the Inn. She had cleaned enough of them during summers to recognize one when she saw it. With a gasp and dawning horror, she looked down at herself.

Naked as the day she was born.

Well, crap.

The room was empty, a few drawers still open from the occupant’s haste to empty them. For that, Karin was grateful. She had never had a one-night stand. It had been something she had been proud of actually.

Karin was extremely upset with herself. Upset and angry. She had always sworn to herself that she would save herself for her wedding night.

She felt like such a- a- a dirty person, she thought lamely. The footsteps had died down behind her door. The window was covered with a thick curtain but Karin could tell that it was still too early for the sun to have fully risen.

She got out of bed, holding the sheets around her like a cape. She went to the window and peeked outside.

The shock and horror had been a sufficient method of sobering her up, which was good because the first rays of sunshine hit her face as she peeked outside. The army had finished gathering themselves and were starting to head out, out of town and towards the battlefront.

She saw a flash of white and quickly drew back, making sure the curtain covered the window to prevent anyone from seeing her.

She waited till the last wagon had pulled out on to the main road before she quickly found her clothes and dressed, blushing horribly when she had to extract her bra from a chair across the room and her underwear from under the bed.

Modest and thoroughly embarrassed, she peeked out into the hall. It appeared empty. Thanking Kami for her good fortune, she quickly slipped out and snuck downstairs. That’s where her fortune ran out.

“Kurosaki-chan.” It was Ururu, the quiet, odd daughter (?) of the owner, walking up the stairs carrying an armload of clean sheets.

Karin froze.

“Hey… Ururu-chan.” She said uncomfortably. Ururu tilted her head to her side.

“What are you doing here so early?”

Karin blinked. She couldn’t guess?

“Umm… I fell asleep… on accident last night.”

“I see. Be safe going home.” And with that, Ururu walked past her to continue her chores.

After a shocked second while Karin pondered the oddity that was Ururu, she quickly decided to not press her luck and hurried down the stairs and out the side door, thankfully not running into anyone else. She hurried down the street towards her home.

She was just around the corner when she was stopped a second time. This time by a government worker, Tanaka.

“Kurosaki-san! Wait! I need to talk to you!”

Karin paused, confused. What would he want with her?

“I’m sure my Oyaji is home if you need him.” Tanaka was clutching a piece of paper and had a very uncomfortable and embarrassed expression.

“I’m afraid it’s you I need to have a word with.”

“Eh?” Karin turned to give him her full attention.

He stopped in front of her and fidgeted for a little bit. “So, umm, some party last night!” He began awkwardly. “Did you- did you have f-” He cut himself off with a blush and tried again. “I mean, I was, erm, I was just in my office, you know, making sure everything was fine from the party last night. Just a few incidents that had to be recorded, you know how it is.”

Karin raised a brow. “I guess.” She replied slowly when he paused again, looking anywhere but at her.

“And I found- that is, on my desk was- um.” He looked like he might have a hernia from nerves.

“You found something on your desk you wanted me to see?” Karin supplied. She really wanted to get home and shower and drink a gallon of water and then sleep for the rest of her life.

He looked relived that she had picked up on his stutters.

With a deep blush he handed her the paper that he had in his hand.

“I just want to say, I was very drunk last night. I normally would have counseled against such… rash decisions but I was not… in full control of my faculties. I hardly remember it myself.”

Karin ignored his ramblings, too intent on the paper she was now looking at, her expression forming an ugly mix between shock, horror, fury, and shame.

And she didn’t even know his last name.

* * *

They had been marching all through the morning. Toushirou had received many teasing remarks and amused grins from his fellow officers. Throughout it all, he sat ram-rod straight on his horse, pointedly ignoring everyone. His headache had not gone away all morning but he couldn’t ask for any kind of pain reliever for fear of another onslaught of jokes and knowing looks.

His step-sister, Hinamori Momo, the sweetest and most innocent person he had ever met had thankfully not heard about his nightly antics, or at least, not understood the innuendoes. She was still recovering from the emotional damage of the betrayal of her captain, Aizen himself, but had been allowed to come because they needed every hand they could spare.

She was riding her own horse next to him. She was mostly quiet, only commenting on aspects of their journey.

Her next question, out of the blue, almost caused Toushirou to fall off his horse in shock.

“Shiro-chan, why do you have one of your officer bands on your finger?”

Toushirou looked down at his finger. His ring finger. On his _left_ hand.

There, gleaming in the sun mockingly, was one of his officer bands. Normally, they were clipped around a strap on his left shoulder, the amount of bands indicating the rank of the wearer.

No bands meant a civilian soldier, one recruited just for the war. One was a private in the Gotei 13, the average Shinigami. 2, a corporal. 3, a sergeant, 4, leuitanent, and 5 bands, meant they were of captain status. There were 13 captains. The General had 6 bands.

To lose one of the bands was a great dishonor. It was usually followed with a strict punishment.

Toushirou gulped and looked at his left shoulder. According to the number of bands, he wasn’t a captain, just a mere corporal. Meaning he hadn’t just used one band as a ring. He had used _two_.

Unbidden, a hazy memory surfaced of the previous night.

_“What about rings? We can’t be married without rings?”_

_“I have an idea!” Clumsy fingers struggled with the tie one his shoulder. “We’ll use these.” He held up two metal bands that reflected the lights outside the courthouse._

_“Excellent!” A man that apparently worked there, Hitsugaya saw his nameplate by the light of single lantern they used to illuminate the room. Tanaka Akihiro – Licenses and Registrations._

_“Just sign and it’ll be official!” The man – Tanaka – laughed loudly and very drunkenly._

_He signed first, his usual scrawl mostly landing on the dotted line reserved for (Groom). He handed her the pen. They fumbled a little, their usual coordination buried under too much sake. Slowly, with careful deliberation, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration, she aimed the pen for the dotted line reserved for (Bride). It landed mostly on._

_“I now pronunce… produce… pro… p – You’re married!” The words too difficult for Tanaka alcohol ridden brain, he opted instead for a simpler phrase._

_The bride turned to him with a huge grin._

_“Wait.” He frowned. “You need to sign.” He gestured to the line underneath both of their’s, reserved for the person who authorized the union._

_Tanaka blinked. “Oops.” He giggled in a manner that was decidedly unmanly. With an over exaggerated flourish his own signature was soon positioned underneath the official couple’s._

_“Now you’re married!”_

_Toushirou wasted no time in trying to jam the band on her finger. After a full minute of drunken fumbling, they both proudly held up their recently adorned hands, the metal glowing dimly._

_“It’s too big.” She frowned, her bottom lip pouting slightly. “I’ll lose it.”_

_He leaned closer, his lips ghosting across her own. “I’ll get you a new one. After the war. A real one.” Pacified, her expression lit up as the newly-weds left the office, stumbling their way back to the Inn and into his room, ready to make their marriage official in another way._

Hitsugaya, did another thing that he didn’t do. In uniform, in full view of all his troops, next to his step-sister, and very loudly, he swore. Colorfully.

* * *

It wasn’t until Karin had somehow managed to make it to her house, gulping down glass after glass of water and was in her bathroom undressing so she could take a very hot shower, did she realize something else. Two things actually.

The first was that she was sporting a slightly too large ring on her left ring finger. The second was proceeded by a loud and vulgar expletive.

“I don’t even know _my_ last name!”


	2. Rings

“Geez, it’s been three weeks now. I almost wish they’d attack just so we’d have something to do!” An unranked Shinigami stretched and yawned loudly, sitting around a campfire with three other Shinigami.  
“I wish it would be over so that we could get out of this mud pit and get a decent bed.” His companion grumbled, in the process of trying to scrape off the mounds of dried mud from his boots.  
“Everyone’s going stir crazy. Even the captains.”  
“I’ve got a girl waiting for me! I don’t know how much longer she’ll wait!”  
A blond Shinigami who was leaning back nonchalantly smirked as he saw a particular white-haired officer march past, head held high, long katana strapped to his back.  
“I know of one captain in particular who also has a girl waiting for him.” His fellow soldiers all looked over and watched Captain Hitsugaya make his way to his tent and duck in. They all grinned.  
“It’s so weird to think even Captain Hitsugaya has a girl.”  
A dark-haired soldier snorted loudly. “What’s weirder still is that it was a one-night stand. Of all captains, he was the one that I never expected that to happen.”  
They all grinned. “Just shows that he’s human too. Every man has needs. Even short, anal ones that never smile.”  
They laughed at the captain’s expense before one of them piped up with a groan. “Man, I want a girl! How is it possible that Captain Hitsugaya got a girl before me!”   
“Maybe because he actually washed his socks.” His friends plugged his nose for emphasis and they all laughed again.  
In Hitsugaya’s tent, Toushiro was crossed to his screened off bed. Captains tents were larger than the rank and file’s and had a little more privacy. He slid off his shoes before sitting cross-legged on top of his blanket. He needed to meditate.  
Everyone was encouraged to meditate regularly but less than 5% actually did. Toushiro had always kept up the habit, finding it extremely calming. And he needed a little calm right now.  
He had heard the comments that the Shinigami had made as he passed. Those kinds of comments were made regularly when he was near, especially when they thought he couldn’t hear. His nightly exploits back in Karakura had spread throughout the whole camp, which was actually rather impressive considering there was almost 4000 Shinigami and civilian troops combined.  
He had been worried that it would be a blow to his reputation but oddly enough, he found that the men seemed to respect him more, look at him more like they did the other captains and not like the youngest person in the entire corps and someone that they wished wasn’t their captain.  
He was the youngest, and the youngest captain ever. Usually, the army didn’t accept people who were underage (18) but 5 years ago, he had helped a small group of Shinigami during a particularly nasty Hollow attack and one of them had been a captain. So impressed with his skills that he pulled a lot of strings and got him drafted into the army. He had been the butt of pretty much all jokes, a 14-year-old Shinigami, but his skill and dedication and risen him up the ranks faster than people could blink and he was a captain at 16, when the previous one had been killed by a Hollow.  
A soldier going through puberty is not the best of experiences. The men were vulgar and honestly, the women weren’t that much better. His Lieutenant for example was frequently giving everyone a free show, to the joy of the other soldiers and the frustration of him.  
He had been teased about not being attracted to her or anyone. He simply thought that it was unprofessional to have such unsavory feelings towards a subordinate. Plus, he preferred girls his own age. And with a little more modesty.  
Not that he had ever admitted that to anyone. He saw it as a weakness of his youth to be distracted by females. The older men could do it but he had to hold himself to a higher standard for the simple fact that he was so young. He had turned 18 less than a year ago (Kyoraku had been wrong about his age in the Inn.) Even though he was of age, he was still the youngest Shinigami. They hadn’t had many new recruits lately.  
He took a deep breath. He wasn’t meditating very well today. He was distracted. Again. Had been for almost a month. They had travelled for 5 days before reaching this spot and had been camping for over 3 weeks. Toushiro had counted the days. For no reason other than to keep track and prepare for the upcoming battle. Not because he was counting how many days since he had left Karakura. And a certain dark-haired female with no last name.  
Nope.  
He groaned and let his head fall into his hands, giving up on meditating. It had been almost a month since he had been able to clear his mind enough to meditate. Every time he was close, she would pop into his head.  
Karin.  
Just Karin. He couldn’t remember her family name. And worse, he thought with a blush, her family name was now, technically, his.  
That was something that he didn’t tell anyone. He didn’t even say it out loud so no one could accidentally overhear it.  
Subconsciously, he reached up to his shoulder and fingered one of the bands. He had put his ‘ring’ back and then reported that he had lost one. After a slap on the wrist (the general had not been amused that one of his captains had lost a band but the other captains had defended him and it was his first offense as a captain) he had gotten a replacement band.  
Kyoraku and Shinji had both teased him about leaving a trinket behind for his girl. He ignored them carefully. He didn’t want to explain exactly what the ‘lost’ band had been used for.  
He tried to stop his mind there. But traitorous brain that he had, he soon lost himself in memories.  
The memories were hazy and muffled by sake, but he could remember enough. He could remember what she looked like. Sounded like. Felt like…  
There was a knock on one of the wooden posts at his door. “Captain? Mail’s here!”  
He was jerked out of his ‘meditation’ by his bubbly Lieutenant. He wasn’t sure whether he was grateful or annoyed.  
“Enter.” He slipped his military issued boots back on and came around the screen. Matsumoto was bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, a large grin on her face.  
“Captain~! Good news! You got a letter!” She was positively gleeful as she handed him a sealed envelope, a handwritten address on the front.  
He took it and looked it over with a critical eye. Then he looked up at Matsumoto. She obviously thought that this was from his ‘lover’, as she was fond of calling the mysterious girl that (thankfully) no one had seen.  
What she obviously failed to notice was that the handwriting was male and had an official feel to it.  
“Are you going to open it, Captain?” Her eyes glittered in excitement.  
Without another word, he slipped his finger under the lip of the envelope and broke the seal, pulling out the folded paper inside. She gasped, obviously surprised that he would open a private letter in front of her.  
He scanned the contents. The letterhead was the official seal of Karakura. He looked up and handed the letter to her, her jaw dropped before she tentatively took it. The hope that it was a private letter was quickly diminishing.  
She scanned it. Then she blushed. “Oops. Hee-hee.” She grinned sheepishly. “Umm… we had good reason for using those.” She searched around for some kind of excuse. Finding none and not daring to look at his scowl, she quickly said, “I forgot, I had to go ….do something. Bye!” And she dropped the letter on the table with the other reports and bolted out, the door to the tent flapping in her wake.  
He glared after before sighing and putting the notice of damage charges pending their return to Karakura letter that she had dropped and looked at the rest of the mail. It was all official military business, reports from scouts and other divisions.  
He couldn’t even lie to himself and say that he hadn’t had the same hope that Matsumoto had. He had no family name and knew nothing about her except her name. He couldn’t write a letter to ‘Karin in Karakura’. For one, it was degrading to her. For another, every time he thought about it, his fears stopped him.  
It was one night. She wouldn’t remember him. She wouldn’t care to know him. She would be embarrassed. Her family would hate him. The general wouldn’t let him see her. He would lose all the respect of his troops and fellow captains.  
He wasn’t even sure how he felt about her.  
Right now, with a growing headache pounding in his head, he was starting to feel a little frustrated and angry with her.  
Slowly, without realizing, his hand went up to his left shoulder and started to absentmindedly finger one of his officer bands.  
~  
Stupid, white-haired, rude, little military jerks, Karin thought angrily as she kicked the soccer ball with enough force for it to hit the goalie in the stomach and still send him flying back into the goal.  
She had been playing a friendly game with her friends, over a month after the Gotei 13 army had passed through Karakura. Over a month since she had gotten married to someone with no last name. Over a month since she’d been able to say her own last name. Since she didn’t know what it was.  
She scowled, her anger growing the more she thought about it. About him.  
She had been playing soccer with her friends in an attempt to distract her from thoughts of him. It was failing miserably. She couldn’t get him out of her head.  
She tried to tell herself that she only thought about him so much because he effectively ruined her life overnight. But if she was being honest with herself (which she rarely was when it came to him) she thought about more than just the situation he had put her in.  
Every time she saw white hair, or spiky hair, or someone that was roughly his height, or who frowned in a similar way, or every singly stinking pair of eyes she saw, no matter the color, she thought of him.  
“Hey Karin, are you feeling okay?” Kentarou nervously approached. She had been rather… touchy lately. Like a very active volcano that blew up at every little thing.  
She whirled on him and he jumped back reflexively. “I’m fine.” She growled dangerously.  
“Right! Of course you are! Just checking!” His voice was a little higher and much more nervous sounding to be calm. His eyes were wide as he looked at her like a feral tiger that was contemplating whether he would be a worthy meal or not.  
She saw his, and her other friends, expressions of fear and sighed, releasing some of her tension.  
“I guess I’m not fine. I’ve just been a little under the weather lately. Just tired.” She shrugged.  
Their concern was immediate.  
“Should you be outside?”  
“Do you need to take a nap?”  
“Do you need medicine?”  
“I can make you some soup!”  
“That would just make her more sick, idiot!”  
“Shut up! You’re an idiot, idiot!”  
She cut off their distracted bickering with a wave of her hand. “I’m fine.” She assured them. “I’ll just head back home. Keep playing.” She waved them off when they all went to follow her. “I’ll be fine. Seriously.” She ignored their concerned faces and walked off the field, making her way through town.  
She didn’t want to go home. Her father’s usually idiotic tendencies had been more annoying than normal, as of late. Whether that was his fault or hers, she didn’t know, but she avoided being home as much as possible. Even Yuzu’s worry was annoying. Everything was annoying to Karin. She was just perpetually angry. And it was all his fault! She thought as she kicked a small rock so hard that it dented the unfortunate wall that she passed.  
She walked aimlessly, cursing him, some of those curses quite creative. Her brother would have been proud. Right after her reprimanded her for cursing.  
Hypocrite, she thought moodily. Apparently, her temper, although most likely the fault of him, knew no boundaries and didn’t discriminate.  
After she had found out about her newly-married status, she had sworn Tanaka to the utmost secrecy. Later that day, she had met with him again and argued with him for a long time about getting rid of it. She tried the conventional means of getting a divorce only to be told that they would need his signature.  
She suggested that they just burn the stupid thing. No certificate, no problem. He explained that 1) that was a crime and they could both get into serious trouble and 2) in his drunken state, he had apparently been on the ball and had created a copy which was already in the town’s official records.  
She had then suggested that she burn Tanaka. After a long argument, she had grudgingly accepted that the only way to fix this whole situation was for him to come back and sign divorce papers or for him to die.  
He had offered to send the divorce papers through mail but that plan was quickly squashed. She didn’t remember his name (his drunken signature only let her know his initials, HT), didn’t know where he was, didn’t even know what division he was in. She wished she knew more about all the rankings and how the uniforms told you basically their whole military history.  
She pulled her hand out of her pocket, realizing angrily that she had been fingering the metal ring that she kept there. She unconsciously did that whenever she thought about him. Which was way too much.  
Her anger deflated suddenly. And now she was sad. She didn’t like how she was sad. It came and went suddenly. Just last night, to her complete horror, she had had to leave suddenly from the kitchen table because for absolutely no reason she had felt her eyes sting, threatening tears. It was infuriating.  
She found her way to a grassy hill, the main river rushing along the bottom. She sat down, staring sightlessly into the water. The water that reminded her of his blue-green eyes.  
She groaned and laid back. She couldn’t escape him. In a single night, he had wormed his way into every single facet of her life. She couldn’t close her eyes without seeing his. She couldn’t hear a deep voice without hearing his. She couldn’t even hug her sister without remembering the feel of his embrace!  
Frustrated, she let out a wordless shout. A few birds nearby took off in fright.  
She sighed again closed her eyes, letting the cool wind wind its way lazily over her, once more fingering the makeshift ring in her pocket.  
~  
“News from the front. The Hollow army is on its way to where the Shinigami army is.” It was Isshen, the Kurosaki’s usually happy-go-lucky father, reading from a printed notice that had been distributed earlier that day. He had on a rare serious expression.  
Yuzu clutched the rag that she had been using to clean to her chest. “Any news about Nii-san?” The oldest male in the family (except their father) had left as soon as he turned 18 to join the army. That was four years ago. He was apparently very skilled and word was that as soon as the spots opened up, he was expected to receive an officer ranking.  
Isshen scanned the notice again before shaking his head with a somber expression. He put the paper down and smiled jovially.  
“Like that good-for-nothing son of mine would be talked about on an official capacity. He’s probably still learning which end of the sword to hold!” He joked, obviously trying to lighten Yuzu’s mood. She smiled, more at his effort than his words, before continuing her chores.  
Karin had been sitting on the couch, close enough to hear what was being said. She pretended that she wasn’t listening. She strained her ears but apparently, for Yuzu’s sake, her father had decided to not bring up the war or the impending battle.  
Karin had been following the war very closely. Not that there had been much movement the past 7 weeks. Apparently, the Shinigami were making a stand somewhere near the border. The news that the Hollows were finally starting their advance was the first real movement in a while.  
There weren’t any KIA lists because the fighting was on a standstill, gearing up this last huge battle. Karin was conflicted. She wanted to know where he was but the only way she could think of was a KIA list, which she didn’t want to ever find him on. Not that she could even he did die. She didn’t know his name. She could look for people with those initials but there were surely lots of people with those initials. It was a useless clue.  
She got up and went to the kitchen, rummaging around the cupboards for a snack. There wasn’t much to do lately, except eat and sleep. And Karin had been doing a lot of both. Lately, that’s all she’d been doing. She was just so tired all the time, she couldn’t find the motivation to do anything.  
She pulled out a jar of salted peanuts and a bag of amanatto. Pouring them both into a bowl, she sat down to absentmindedly eat her snack. Her father had watched her actions with a raised eyebrow.  
“Interesting snack choice there, sweetie. I’ve never seen such a …original recipe.”  
She looked down, not having been fully conscious of her actions. She shrugged and popped a handful of mixed peanuts and sweets. “I felt like it.” Was her only reply.  
Isshen watched her eat for a minute before shrugging his own shoulders. “Very well. I just thought you didn’t like amanatto. You always said it was an old person’s candy.”  
She frowned. She didn’t like amanatto. Why was she eating it? It wasn’t that bad, honestly. Maybe the peanuts hid the odd fermented and sweet taste behind their salt.  
Isshen suddenly chuckled. “You know, your mother had weird tastes. Usually only when she was pregnant but some of her recipes were just as interesting. She had this recipe with turnips and asparagus that …”  
Karin had stopped listening. She had stopped eating. She almost stopped breathing.  
No.  
No. NO. No, no, no, no, no, absolutely not, impossible, no way, nope, never, nuh-uh, NO.  
She looked down at her combination of salt and sweets that she had never liked before much less craved.  
She swore, startling Isshen from his trip down memory lane, and causing Yuzu to drop the plate she had been washing back in the sink.  
She really hated him.

**Author's Note:**

> If you heard the song, you should've known how this was going to end.


End file.
